J A L A N D H A R

State’s vaccination scheme fuelling exodus of vets?
Phagwara, March 19
In an alarming trend, around 200 veterinarians from Punjab recently went abroad to take up new jobs due to the lack of facilities in the state, according to many of their former colleagues.

Ayurveda experts to focus on good manufacturing practices
Jalandhar, March 19
Taking part in the “National Workshop on Good Manufacturing Practices for Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Industry,” leading ayurveda experts and several ayurvedic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country today resolved to make “focussed and serious efforts” towards adopting and implementing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in ayurvedic medicines.

Cruelworld: Road shows in Jalandhar are bread and butter for this madari and his monkeys, whatever animal activists may say. — Photo by S.S. Chopra

Development grants for Dhilwan, Begowal, Bholath
Kapurthala, March 19
The state government has released the first installment of the Rs 600-crore “Punjab Nirman Project” for carrying out all-round developmental works in various cities and villages of the state. This was stated by Chaudhry Jagjit Singh, the Minister of Local Government, at Dhilwan near here today.

Two booked for fraud
Phagwara, March 19
A former ASI and a woman were booked by the police here on charges of defrauding a local resident in a land deal. The former ASI in the Punjab Police, Yograj, was dismissed from the duty some time back.

‘Compensate families of terror vicitms’
Phagwara, March 19
Secretary of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Mr Parminder Mehta, today urged the Union government to fix compensations and allowances for those families, whose members fell victim to terrorism, in line with the compensation being given to families of the 1984 riot victims.

Science City
Kapurthala, March 19
Professor Yash Pal, a renowned scientist, would unveil new exhibits in Pushpa Gujral Science City on the occasion of the institute’s Annual Day function here tomorrow.

State’s vaccination scheme fuelling exodus of vets?
Anil Jerath
Tribune News Service

Phagwara, March 19
In an alarming trend, around 200 veterinarians from Punjab recently went abroad to take up new jobs due to the lack of facilities in the state, according to many of their former colleagues.

However, an official of the Animal and Husbandry Department here countered it by saying that the veterinary doctors were leaving Punjab for better job opportunities, as he himself had seen in the US.

While talking to The Tribune, the official said that as many as 200 doctors had applied for ex-India leave since the scheme for the 100 per cent immunisation of animals was launched in Punjab a few months back.

The exodus rose after the government ordered nearly 1,384 veterinary doctors in the state to immunise over one crore animals in Punjab.

The officials claimed that only 700 of them are now effectively working to complete this challenging target of vaccinating cattle heads in eight border districts of the state.

A doctor, on request of anonymity, said that there was no legislative support on the lines of Haryana and other adjoining states for the ambitious vaccination scheme.

“Farmers cannot be forced to get their cattle vaccinated in the absence of the legislation and they are not even ready to pay a paltry sum of Rs 4 per dose. If the target is not met, the officers will be either suspended or threatened,” he added.

He claimed that the doctors were working without any conveyance allowance or non-practicing allowance compared to their counterparts in other states. “The targets are stringent considering the availability of human resources. Punjab does not have more than 300 veterinarians to fill up the vacant posts.”

The veterinary doctors in the state, he added, were among the lowest paid, despite being equivalent with medicos. “One doctor is catering to around 15,000 and 20,000 animals, against an accepted norm of 5,000 animals,” he said.

However, the Animal and Husbandry Department official claimed that he had seen veterinarians from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in the US, where they had become millionaires treating dogs and cats. “The doctors there lead a lavish life playing golf and driving limousines.”

He denied that there was any pressure on doctors, as elsewhere in the country, the target had been met within 35 days. “But it has been over 80 days in Punjab and the vaccination target has not yet been achieved.”

Ayurveda experts to focus on good manufacturing practices
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 19
Taking part in the “National Workshop on Good Manufacturing Practices for Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Industry,” leading ayurveda experts and several ayurvedic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the country today resolved to make “focussed and serious efforts” towards adopting and implementing Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) in ayurvedic medicines. The workshop was organised at the Dayanand Ayurvedic College here.

Present on the occasion were a number of leading ayurvedic experts, including the Advisor (Ayurveda) to the Government of India, Dr S.K. Sharma and Deputy Advisor, Dr Dinesh Katoch. The experts pondered upon the need to adopt GMPs in respect to ayurvedic medicines.

Dr Sharma said that since the acceptance of ayurvedic medicines had increased at the global level, there was a need for manufacturers to adhere to the GMPs. “This will not only lead to enhancement in the quality of the medicines, but also help in the wider acceptance of ayurvedic products in India as well as abroad.” He also spoke about the efforts being made by the Centre in this direction.

Dr Katoch gave a detailed presentation about GMPs, while Dr Bipin Chander Sharma, the Director of the Drug Licencing Authority, and the Joint Director of the Department of Ayurveda, Punjab, elaborated on the legal aspects of the GMPs in the state.

Principal of the Dayanand Ayurvedic College, Dr Raj Kumar Gupta, informed the experts about the manufacturing practices adopted by the college authorities in its pharmacy.

The difficulties being faced by ayurvedic pharmaceutical units in the implementation of GMPs were also discussed by a group of experts, including Dr Sharma, Dr Katoch, Dr Bipin Sharma, Dr Pardeep Nagrath, Dr Shamsher Dilawari, Dr Durga Parsad, Dr Sanjiv Sood, Dr Anup Gakhar and Dr Nagesh Sandhu. Stalls were also put up by various pharmacies on the campus.

Development grants for Dhilwan, Begowal, Bholath
Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, March 19
The state government has released the first installment of the Rs 600-crore “Punjab Nirman Project” for carrying out all-round developmental works in various cities and villages of the state. This was stated by Chaudhry Jagjit Singh, the Minister of Local Government, at Dhilwan near here today.

The minister was here to distribute grants for developmental works to be carried out in Dhilwan, Begowal and Bholath.

He said that Rs 189 crore would be spent on supplying drinking water to 128 towns in the state and more than Rs 87 crore had been earmarked for better sewerage facilities in the towns.

The minister also lauded the efforts of the Dhilwan Development Society in initiating developmental works in the village.

Two booked for fraud

Phagwara, March 19
A former ASI and a woman were booked by the police here on charges of defrauding a local resident in a land deal. The former ASI in the Punjab Police, Yograj, was dismissed from the duty some time back.

The police said that one Surinder Mittal, a resident of Hargobind Nagar here, had lodged a complaint with the Kapurthala SSP, Mr Rajiv Ahir, in which he claimed that on February 9, he had struck a deal for a plot measuring two marlas and gave Rs 50,000 as token money to one Balraj Kaur, a resident of Patel Nagar. He claimed that Balraj Kaur had fixed March 7 as the deal’s mutation date. In the meantime, Balraj Kaur allegedly sold the said plot to Yograj, a resident of New Model Town. — TNS

‘Compensate families of terror vicitms’
Tribune News Service

Phagwara, March 19
Secretary of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Mr Parminder Mehta, today urged the Union government to fix compensations and allowances for those families, whose members fell victim to terrorism, in line with the compensation being given to families of the 1984 riot victims.

He claimed that the PPCC President, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, had raised the issue with the Prime Minister.

Mr Mehta alleged that the former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was “crying for monitoring the help being given to the riot victims of 1984, but never bothered about the families of terror victims”. 

Science City

Kapurthala, March 19
Professor Yash Pal, a renowned scientist, would unveil new exhibits in Pushpa Gujral Science City on the occasion of the institute’s Annual Day function here tomorrow. On the occasion of completing one year, a new movie in the Dome Theatre of the PGSC depicting Everest climbing expedition would be screened. — TNS